The Jets are working on locking up Austin Howard before March 1st. Many of us love the in house first approach, especially when it comes to any valuable pieces on the offensive line. Where things begin and end.

We’ve all seen what happens when this unit slips in its capabilities. After all, Howard was the replacement for Wayne Hunter. 2011 was a rough year for the Jets in the trenches as they transitioned from the veteran led Alan Faneca and Damien Woody AFC title game run of 2009 and 2010. Willie Colon, 30, is a free agent too. For the right price why not bring him back and keep the continuity. I can’t think of any unit that thrives on continuity more than the boys up front protecting the quarterback,

We Are Weeks Away…

From free agency and seeing the true market value of Mark Sanchez, and Santonio Holmes. Perhaps Antonio Cromartie too. With the intent on considering him at a more reasonable price. There is always a surprise or two when the axes fall for schematic and financial reasons. Can you guess what they will be this time around?

The Circus Went South, It Surprisingly Never Went North

Remember 2012, when the Jets were the team that local media and others in the national corps liked to call a circus? Well these days the clown car is cruising in and around South Beach. How bout those Miami Dolphins?

Politically incorrect street talk happens in every locker room, but the Incognito/Martin story that now includes some others Miami players and coaches over incidents involving others besides Martin, has certainly made the Peyton Manning chase, Drew Stanton release, new Mark Sanchez contract, signing of Tim Tebow, and late November Buttfumble timeline a G rated collection of odd moments in comparison.

The current Dophin mess and pre John Idzik Jet labeling makes me even more fascinated about how the Patriots were able to as an organization, turn a murder charge involving Aaron Hernandez simply into a tragic story about a former employee heading into the season. Was the national media that disinterested in what current and former Pats players and personnel had to say about it? Even if those who knew him were told to wait as the investigation played out, you can’t tell me that unnamed sources were nowhere to be found or heard from. I’m still amazed at the lack of prying in a modern day news world culture that has no limits to its digging for information.

Ten Percent? Forget Sacrifices, That’s What Losing Does

The Daily News reported last week that “The Jets announced a minimal overall decrease in their ticket prices, with upper level seating at MetLife Stadium decreasing in price by an average of roughly 10 percent.” Jets President Neil Glat reasoned “We understand the sacrifices many of our fans make to attend our games. We carefully study and assess market demand based on many factors, including the secondary market, prices around the National Football League, and prices for other sports and entertainment offerings in the New York market. Our goal is to maximize the number of season ticket holders in our building in an effort to create a substantial homefield advantage.”

Translation: Three straight playoff-less seasons has scared the front office.

Would the “sacrifice” of the fan base have been “studied” and ticket prices anywhere in Met Life stadium been reduced had the Jets gone 12-4 and deep in January the last two seasons? Losing reduces numbers at the gate. A packed house is better businesses.

Miles and Decker: At the Right Price and Overpriced

Now Miles Austin’s name has been added to the list of free agent receivers the Jets are considering. The Jets should consider all available wideouts but Austin at 30 years of age and coming off of the hamstring issues should only be considered a value pick up not an overly expensive one.

Prior to the nagging injuries and Dez Bryant emerging in Dallas, Austin was almost a number one wideout. Now is he anything more than a solid possession receiver with some limited big play capability? I don’t think anything major will be solved with the signing of him. A better David Nelson is what I see in Austin provided that he is healthy. Which may fit inside of a bigger plan but in no way should be seen as a solution in and of itself.

Eric Decker’s value is at 9 mil a year or so according to reports we keep seeing from NFL sources via twitter. Sorry, that is way too much cash for a guy who needs a primary target to open things up for him. Certain Jets teams of the past might have overpaid in his direction. The John Idzik Jets will not. Let someone else be disappointed that their high priced catch isn’t acting like a top ten guy.

Quick Hits

– Just glanced at the Jets 2014 opponents. Of the four road games out of the AFC East three are against Green Bay, San Diego and Kansas City. They also host Denver and Detroit. Those are the types of games where even a good defensive performance may require 24 points of offense or more to win. Just throwing that out there as we all witness the beginning the rebuild on O.

– On Sunday a friend brought to my attention the days back in the 1980’s when the Jets and Giants would play each other in basketball games during the offseason. There’d be a handful of guys on each side. Some of the players were even notable ones like Freeman McNeil and Marty Lyons. Can you imagine any players doing that these days for a little extra cash? Autograph appearances maybe. For a set fee. Different world.

– The NFL Combines arrive February 22. I wonder where Idzik places the value of raw speed and power of players in comparison to their on field collegiate production. Where do you guys rate the 40 times and lifting results from this key four day workout in Indianapolis.

– I still keep wondering..if a Bridgewater or Manziel somehow someway fall to 18, will the Jets blink?

Related

Barring anything really odd happening before the draft, I can’t see Bridgewater or Manziel dropping past #18. There are too many teams drafting ahead of us that have major question marks at QB (in order; Houston, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Oakland, Minnesota, possibly Tennessee). Stranger things have happened, but I feel like we’ll see something like the 2011 draft where teams in the top #10 are reaching for QBs like Bortles and Carr.

KAsh

You are not going to find a top-flight receiver in free agency, at least not one that can make the shutdown corners on every NFL team work for their money. Get the FA wideout that is the best at getting separation, and make him your #1 receiver regardless of what type of receiver he is.

Steve Liddy

Kash…

They tried that with Holmes. If you bring a guy in and ‘make him your #1 WR’, you set the expectation he will see the majority of the the throws. Plus, if you bring a guy in to be your ‘#1’, he’s going to want ‘#1’ type money.

No doubt they need help at WR. I pray they don’t overspend, by too much, to bring in guys like Tate, Maclin or Sanders. No doubt those guys would all be upgrades, but they’re not a ‘#1 guy’, so overpaying them would be…..well…again…Holmes-like.

Harold

If the QB’s fall we need to field offers and make our team championship caliber. If we can get a 2nd and 3rd this year and 2nd and 4th next year. That would really help us rebuild in a hurry.

KAsh

@Steve L

The #1 receiver is the split end or the X receiver that usually lines up as the seventh guy on the LoS and usually faces the top corner. It is a demanding position and the guys that excel at it never sniff the FA market. But the rules dictate that there need to be at least seven men on the LoS, so someone needs to be the #1 receiver. Holmes, Tate, and Maclin are all flankers that excel at slipping tackles when they have room and beating coverage with their speed, explosiveness, and agility, but they effectiveness is questionable when they do not have the cushion of lining up behind the LoS. We are quickly going to become one-trick ponies if we cannot channel our offense through a #1 receiver.

Have you ever tried to actually read what’s printed on this website with dark prnt on a dark background?

Lidman

Kash..

Oh..by your definition every team has a #1 guy then. Stop using terms like ‘split end’, ‘X’ and ‘Flanker’.

Jimmy Graham is New Orleans #1, and he’s a TE. Same can be said of a healthy Gronkowski.

At one point Welker was NE’s ‘#1’, and he was nearly exclusive to the slot. Cruz is the NYG #1, and he’s plays all over.

This isn’t a semantics argument. Thanks, but I actually did know how many guys have to line up on the ‘LOS’. My point is if you pay players above their field value (see Santonio Holmes, for example), you will generally suffer for it (Seattle this year is an exception). So, don’t overpay for the Tates, Edelmans, and Sanders of the world to be a #1, because those are the choices you’re stuck with. We’ve seen this movie, with Holmes. Had he lived up to his contract, the offense wouldn’t look so anemic.

KAsh

Yes, every team has a receiver it uses as a #1 receiver. It is like every school has a valedictorian: not every valedictorian is a genius or a good student. Jimmy Graham is the Saints’s tight end and biggest receiving threat; the Saints shift around their receivers in their dynamic offense, but Marques Colston is the majority consensus #1 receiver. In 2012, Welker was Brady’s slot receiver and Brandon Lloyd was Brady’s #1 receiver. Cruz is a slot receiver and Hakeem Nicks has been the #1 receiver on the Giants. Although their amount of talent varies, Lloyd, Nicks, and Colston all share common facets to their game and had similar responsibilities on their teams. Welker, Cruz, and Graham are all amazingly different players and dominate by using very different talents. The first group have similarities and, therefore, fit under one label; the latter group does not.

Just to make this an argument about semantics, the way you use the term “#1 receiver” is a horrible waste of time. In your hands, it describes a mythical player that is always on other teams and never on yours. No real concept is attached to your use of “#1 receiver,” so you are left guessing about his qualities, and he takes on a semi-religious tone, a demigod that bestows football victories to the team that sacrifices millions of dollars at his altar. More definition, not less, is the way to keep a clear head.

The Jet Report

Why don’t we all just say a #1 is a threat that teams plan to take away and one who draws enough attention that it makes others more of a threat. It can be a tall strong guy outside, a slot player or even a TE like Graham or Gronk. The Jets need an attention grabber somewhere. Anywhere. Please.

Joe Caporoso

Well said, TJ

KAsh

@TJ

Many people have opinions about who to avoid and who they want to see on the team (I am definitely as guilty as anyone else), but we avoid the hard issue of rebuilding an entire unit, one that was perhaps the worst in the league, completely from scratch. We have utter freedom, but limited resources and no schematic. Just get talent? Talent costs money, is subjective, and can result in extreme disorder. Don’t overpay? You risk inaction. We need a plan, one that goes beyond individual players.

The issue at large is: by whatever definition you use, who should we sign/how should we address the position?

Harold

You can get 3 picks for the 18th pick in the draft if the team is trading up from the 2nd round. My scenario is 3 picks (you are swapping your 1st and their 2nd hypothetically). Then you are securing a third this year, 2nd and third next year.

Future picks drop a round in value. So it would be the same as getting a 2nd, two thirds and and 4th this year in terms of value. If you look at the points chart this is very possible in this scenario.

The Jet Report

Good point Kash system comes first otherwise it’s chicken w the head cut off. Assuming Marty Ball is the system for a while lets just not overpay for interchangeable pieces and aim for something we can feature. WR, TE, someone.. If not this year then trade down load up on viable affordable pieces and target next year. System first though. Which really begs the Q, can Geno pilot this thing..

KAsh

@TJ

Geno is what we are all wondering about.

(But, again, we can remake the scheme and the playbook to suit whatever MM fancies. Marty has complete freedom to craft whatever he wants. This offseason should give us a big clue as to how MM sees offense, in general.)

@Harold

That type of trade up is plausible. But the only way to get four picks for one is for the Jets to trade as far back as the NYG’s 43rd pick. That is 25 spots back and also begs the question why the Giants or an analogous team did not just draft this player with their first-round pick. A trade with the Redskins would be worth just three picks (their second, third, and fifth). And you can get a pretty fair trade with SF or Denver for their first- and second-rounders, though the problem with SF is that they are looking for a lot of the same things we are. Getting four picks would be great, but it is highly unlikely and would take us out of the draft until the middle of the second round. For three picks, we would be drafting at the top of the second round, while two picks would put us back about ten spots to the end of the first. Food for thought.